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Ashley Steenson on Muck Rack

Ashley Steenson

Birmingham
As seen in: Post Outlook, Newsday, History Today, Deep South Magazine, Alabama Heritage, Y'all.com
Covers:  Southern U.S. politics, ideas, and culture
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Riverton: A Casualty of Change

Riverton: A Casualty of Change

Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area — Drafted in 1933 and first explained in a message to Congress by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Tennessee Valley Authority Act is one of the most radical pieces of legislation in U.S. history.
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The Art of Dionicio Rodríguez in Birmingham's Elmwood Cemetery

The Art of Dionicio Rodríguez in Birmingham's Elmwood Cemetery

Alabama Heritage — Mexican artist Dionicio Rodríguez constructed a tree with a mushroom roof, a bridge with a Chinese lantern, and a bench made of roots.
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To Understand Trump's Appeal, Look to Alabama History

To Understand Trump's Appeal, Look to Alabama History

TIME — The transformation of Alabama politics in the 1960s and 1970s reflected the rise of a new version of Republicanism that Trump has perfected.
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Mt. Nebo Cemetery and Issac Nettles's Death Mask Gravestones

Mt. Nebo Cemetery and Issac Nettles's Death Mask Gravestones

Alabama Heritage — The handmade death mask gravestones designed by inventor Isaac “Ike” Nettles at Mt. Nebo Cemetery remain shrouded in mystery for those who may not study folklore or live around the Black Belt region. Scholars conclude that the gravestones are not only significant within the state but might also be the only ones in the Southeast.
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The Politics of Tallulah Bankhead

The Politics of Tallulah Bankhead

womenshistorynetwork.org — American actress Tallulah Bankhead experienced a resurgence in popular culture after the release of Ryan Murphy's Hollywood (2020) and Lee Daniels' The U.S. vs. Billie Holiday (2021). Both Paget Brewster's portrayal of Tallulah in Hollywood and Natasha Lyonne's portrayal in Daniels' film revived the question of Bankhead's alleged affairs with women like actress Hattie McDaniel and singer Billie Holiday.
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Buddha, Bird City & Jungle Gardens

Buddha, Bird City & Jungle Gardens

Deep South Magazine — Visit the magical land of the father of conservation in the South. by Ashley Steenson In 1920, a New York Times journalist called scientist, businessman, writer, explorer and Tabasco heir E.A. McIlhenny the "father of conservation in the South." McIlhenny founded two wildlife refuges in Louisiana, including his own Jungle Gardens.
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Plastic Paradise: A short history about an unusual home

Plastic Paradise: A short history about an unusual home

Atomic Ranch — "It’s our annual Design Issue—a look back on the icons of the Mid Century Era and a look ahead to the new makers, movers and shakers creating modernist heirlooms for tomorrow. Visit homes featuring designer furnishings and the best of MCM Design. Dive into the work of Eero Aarnio, Alexander Calder and Matti Suuronen."
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Can rappers be jailed for lyrics and image? History shows they can.

Can rappers be jailed for lyrics and image? History shows they can.

The Washington Post — On May 9, police arrested Atlanta rapper Young Thug (Jeffery Lamar Williams) and raided his home. Citing journalist Michael Seiden, Complex News reported that Thug was "charged with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and participation in criminal street gang activity."
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Water Valley, Mississippi, and the Legend of Casey Jones

Water Valley, Mississippi, and the Legend of Casey Jones

Deep South Magazine — Over the past decade, the small town of Water Valley, Mississippi, has been recommended by publications like , Southern Living and The New York Times . A half hour's drive from the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Water Valley is home to well-loved small businesses like B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery and Violet Valley Books.
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The Delta Mansion That Inspired Tennessee Williams

The Delta Mansion That Inspired Tennessee Williams

Deep South Magazine — by Ashley Steenson For the 1951 film directed by Elia Kazan, Southern playwright Tennessee Williams was forced to add a happy ending to his 1947 play "A Streetcar Named Desire." As the Hays Code mandated self-censorship of films through the 1960s, Williams was accustomed to the censorship of his plays, which often depicted characters who were seen as morally corrupt at the time.
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Irene Scruggs and American Expats in Europe

Irene Scruggs and American Expats in Europe

womenshistorynetwork.org — In Blues Legacies and Black Feminism (1998), philosopher Angela Davis considers the "ideological implications of the blues," asking "What can we learn from blueswomen like Gertrude 'Ma' Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday...?"
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Out on Good Behaviour

Out on Good Behaviour

History Today — In 1972 the New York Times journalist Roy Reed called Parchman prison in the Mississippi Delta a penitentiary with 'one of the bloodiest and most dispiriting records of all the penal institutions of North America'.
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Viral sorority TikTok videos share only one side of Southern university life

Viral sorority TikTok videos share only one side of Southern university life

The Washington Post — Over the past two weeks, Vox, the Cut, NBCand others have reported on TikTok videos from sorority rush at the University of Alabama that went viral. As the New York Times explained, "The videos are uniform and mesmerizing: The women, most of whom have southern accents, simply explain what day it is and what brands they are wearing from earrings to shoes."
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Frank Lloyd Wright in the Deep South

Frank Lloyd Wright in the Deep South

Deep South Magazine — A look at the architect's Rosenbaum House in Florence, Alabama, a symbol of "free architecture." In 1954, the world-renowned architect and social critic Frank Lloyd Wright wrote, "I now propose an ideal ... for the ... American building. Let it grow up in that image. The tree."
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Historic Highway 90: 'The Southern Route 66'

Historic Highway 90: 'The Southern Route 66'

Y'all.com — According to John Preble, Curator of the Abita Mystery House Museum in Abita Springs, La., Highway 90 or The Old Spanish Trail was "the southern Route 66."
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The Mississippi Delta: One-Of-A-Kind History And Food

The Mississippi Delta: One-Of-A-Kind History And Food

Y'all.com — The Mississippi Delta is called "the most Southern place on earth," as this flat, fertile farmland is home to blues greats, Southern comfort food, and more.
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Roosevelt's Southern Connection

Roosevelt's Southern Connection

History Today — After a 1937 trip to Mississippi, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent the state's senator Pat Harrison a letter of praise along with the debts he had incurred after losing to him in a game of poker: 'I bow to your prowess and apologize for the delay, and trust that you have not been pecuniarly inconvenienced.'
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